South Africa - Biased biotech policy being engineered?

Biotechnology Strategy and Policy development initiative by the South African government

NLP Wessex 4may01

Background Cabinet has appointed the Department of Arts Culture Technology and Science to lead a process of preparing a national strategic plan on biotechnology. This national strategy is being prepared by a group of experts appointed by the Minister of Arts Culture, Science and Technology and an interdepartmental Steering Committee oversees the work of the expert panel. The Steering Committee consists of the DACST, NDA, DEAT, DTI and DoH. The ARC is responsible for the administrative management of the project.

The expert panel is meeting between 2 – 11 May to do interviews and draft a paper. The following people serve on the experts panel: Dr. John Mugabe, Prof. Jennifer Thomson (UCT), Dr David Walman (AECI), Prof Iqbar Parker (UCT), Mohammed Gena(DACST), Dr Sibara (U North), Winston Hide (UWC), Brenda Wingfield (UP) Dr Frikkie Botha (US), Busi Madola (DoH). (Spelling of names and titles needs to be confirmed – contact Paul Magnuson, ARC in this regard: 012 427 9825; Dr Pyoos (DACST): 012 337 8043 or Verna Mackay: 012 337 8133. They can also be contacted for further information)

The report will be finalised on 8 June 2001 and presented to Cabinet on 27 June 2001.

STATEMENT BY BIOWATCH SOUTH AFRICA

Biotechnology policy and strategy initiative by government excludes the interests of the people of South Africa

Biowatch South Africa has by chance learnt of a high-level initiative by the South African government to develop a national biotechnology policy and strategy. Biowatch has for many years lamented the lack a national biotechnology policy and has lobbied for its development through widespread public consultation. We are therefore extremely alarmed at the untransparent and seemingly biased manner in which this initiative is being driven.

We believe that the Experts Panel that has been constituted to advise the government and to draft the policy and strategy is extremely skewed in the interests of industry and is not balanced to represent public concerns about the social and environmental impacts of agricultural biotechnology in particular. For some members of this panel there is a conflict of interest and they will not be able to make an unbiased contribution. Despite the high level of public interest and concern in this issue, there has been no public consultation as to the composition of the Experts Panel and no public announcement as to the objectives of the initiative, and the consultative process it will follow. Furthermore, we believe the terms of reference for the work to be extremely limited and inherently biased towards promoting and supporting the increasingly globalised biotechnology industry, and neglectful of the well-known risks of modern biotechnology to the environment, health, food security and trade. In stark contrast, the international community is calling for a precautionary approach through the Biosafety Protocol, which the South African government has yet to sign. This is despite the fact that our national environmental legislation commits us to such a precautionary approach.

South Africa is used by companies such as Monsanto as a springboard to introduce genetically engineered crops into Africa - crops that Europe, the East and increasingly the Americas are rejecting. This is being done in the absence of any kind of public debate. We urge the South African government to open up the current policy process to vigorous public participation and debate. We also strongly recommend that the expert panel be reconstituted to represent the interests of all South Africans.

Contact: Elfrieda Pschorn-Strauss Coordinator, Biowatch South Africa Tel/fax: 022 492 3426 e-mail: eps@intekom.co.za